Help me support Syrian refugees in Greece

Each day, news and social media remind us of the conflict in Syria, which has caused great suffering and displaced millions of people. It seems almost impossible to know how to help. That’s how I felt until I discovered a volunteer program that would offer me the opportunity to get on the ground and try to make a difference. If you’d like to help me along my journey, with even the smallest donation, it would be greatly appreciated.

A bit about me
My name is Samantha, and I’m 28 years old, from Melbourne. I am a qualified paediatric nurse and a primary school teacher and I have a passion for working with kids. I have previously volunteered locally and within Asia. I’ve worked in a variety of settings, including emergency nursing and neonatal care.

In February 2017, I’m pressing ‘pause’ on my life as I know it. I hope to make a difference by lending my skills to the humanitarian effort. I will spend two months volunteering with Syrian refugees in Greece, working in a nursing and health education context.

Who’s going?
I will join a diverse group of health professionals travelling to Greece including doctors, nurses, counselors, naturopaths and nutritionists.

Our independent health volunteering team will partner with local NGO's in the Western and Northern mainland region of Greece where significant numbers of Syrian refugees reside in camps facing malnutrition, illness and disease.

What will we be doing?
As a team we will be focusing on:

• performing health assessments on the most ‘at risk’ members of the refugee population, such as pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children;
• providing medical assistance, first aid and health checks for incoming refugees;
• providing nutritional support to malnourished pregnant women;
• supporting lactating mothers to breastfeed so they do not have to use expensive formulas;
• distributing donated herbs and supplements;
• implementing basic exercise programs for adults and children; and
• providing health education and implementing nutritional programs for families.

While we are in Greece, the team and I are going to do our best to assist the local Greek community, who are supporting the displaced Syrian people. We will be purchasing things to donate to the refugees as a part of our care, including the following:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables
• Basic first aid/ medical supplies
• Nutritional supplements such as whey products and vitamins
• Blankets, clothing and footwear

How you can help
If you can spare a few dollars to donate to this cause your money would be going towards:

• My travel expenses in getting to and around Greece - accommodation and transport
• Purchasing items locally (as listed above) to support the refugee community

If any of this sounds good to you, please hit the link to donate.

If you’re not in a position yourself to donate, please share this on so that others may contribute.

For any of my loved ones who thought about buying me a gift for Christmas this year, a donation instead would be a fabulous gift in lieu of a present.

Thank you for your time, support and your open heart.

In hope and love,
Samantha Malin.

If you would like to learn more about the refugee crisis, click on the links below:
http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/latest/2016/9/57e12c564/300000-refugees-migrants-cross-med-far-2016.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/inthefield/2016/11/refugee-crisis-greeks-year-161110113307707.html

Thank you to one of the many amazing humanitarian aid organisations, ‘I Am You’ for the images. To see what they are doing to protect human rights and help displaced people in the region, click here:
https://www.facebook.com/iamyourescue